Modeling heterogeneity in social interaction processes using multilevel survival analysis

Psychol Methods. 2006 Jun;11(2):164-77. doi: 10.1037/1082-989X.11.2.164.

Abstract

More than 15 years ago, survival or hazard regression analyses were introduced to psychology (W. Gardner & W. A. Griffin, 1989; W. A. Griffin & W. Gardner, 1989) as powerful methodological tools for studying real time social interaction processes among dyads. Almost no additional published applications have appeared, although such data are commonly collected and the applicable questions are central to many important theoretical perspectives. To revisit the basic methods, the authors use an example from emotion regulation theory in which the level of child antisocial behavior is hypothesized to be positively associated with the hazard rate of angry emotions and negatively associated with sad, fearful emotions in the face of parental negative behavior (scolding). The authors discuss the limitations of traditional approaches to the analysis of social interaction and demonstrate improvements in the ability to model individual differences now available in existing software.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Antisocial Personality Disorder / psychology
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Emotions
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Humans
  • Individuality
  • Interpersonal Relations*
  • Models, Statistical*
  • Parent-Child Relations
  • Proportional Hazards Models
  • Psychometrics / statistics & numerical data
  • Regression Analysis
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Risk
  • Survival Analysis*